Second Treatise of Government Characters

A 17th-century English philosopher. Locke published his Second Treatise of Government—the second part of his Two Treatise of Government—anonymously 1689. The First Treatise of Government is mostly a critique of Sir Robert Filmer… read analysis of John Locke

A 17th-century English political theorist. Locke mentions Filmer in the preface to the Second Treatise of Government and refers to Filmer’s 1680 book, Patriarcha, in which Filmer advocates for absolute monarchies and the divine… read analysis of Sir Robert Filmer

A 16th-century English priest and theologian. Locke quotes Hooker and his 1594 book, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie, extensively in the Second Treatise of Government, as Hooker claims all humankind is obligated… read analysis of Sir Richard Hooker

A 17th-century English philosopher. Locke never mentions Hobbes by name, but he does refer to Hobbes’s 1651 book, Leviathan. In Leviathan, Hobbes argues that the state of nature is a savage and ruthless… read analysis of Thomas Hobbes

The King of England during Locke’s time, who reigned from 1650 to 1702. In the preface to the Second Treatise of Government, Locke states he hopes his discourse will reinforce King William’s place… read analysis of King William III